Letter from LDH to Louisiana COVID-19 Vaccination Providers

On May 13, 2021, Dr. Joseph Kanter and Dr. Frank Welch from the State of Louisiana, Department of Health, Office of Public Health, sent a letter to Louisiana COVID-19 Vaccine Providers regarding the FDA and CDC authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization in adolescents aged 12-15.

In the letter, they state that the Louisiana Department of Health is announcing the administration of the vaccine to children ages 12-15, following the decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to recommend the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the Pfizer vaccine be made available for that age group.

They also state in the letter that for any child 18 years or under, verbal or signed parental consent is needed to be vaccinated. Lastly, the Louisiana Department of Health wrote to the COVID-19 vaccination providers that there can be side effects from the Pfizer vaccine.